Countdown to "The Rise of Skywalker" - Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, let's wrap up the Original Star Wars trilogy with Return of the Jedi. Released in 1983, this entry of the Star Wars saga was directed by Richard Marquand, and saw the continuation of a unresolved plot thread from The Empire Strikes Back: that of the fate of Han Solo after he was frozen in carbonite and taken from Bespin by Boba Fett. Having caught up with the infamous bounty hunter, Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewie, R2, and 3PO find themselves on Tatooine, in the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Jabba throws Luke into a pit where he keeps a massive Rancor. After Luke, who is much further along as a Jedi Knight, kills the beast, Jabba orders that Luke, Chewie, and Han (whom Leia freed from the carbonite) were to be thrown into the Pit of Carkoon, where they would be devoured by a terrifying beast called the Sarlaac. Luke, however, has cleverly hidden his new green-bladed lightsaber inside of R2, and he uses it to cut through Jabba's men, while Leia kills Jabba and frees herself and the droids, and Han accidentally bumps into Boba Fett's jetpack, which sends him hurdling to his apparent death in the Sarlaac Pit below. Han, Lando, Chewie, Leia, and 3PO take off on the Falcon to meet up with the Rebel fleet near the planet Sullust, while Luke and R2 head back to Dagobah to meet with Yoda, and complete Luke's Jedi training.
Meanwhile, the Empire has secretly been building a second Death Star within the orbit of the forest moon of Endor. Darth Vader informs Moff Jerjerrod, who is the commander of this new Death Star, that the Emperor himself will be arriving to oversee the completion of the Death Star, and work with Vader to turn Luke to the Dark Side. Back on Dagobah, Luke learns that Yoda is dying of old age, and Yoda confirms that Vader is, in fact Luke's father, and that there is another Skywalker. After Yoda dies and becomes one with the Force, Luke is met by the Force Ghost of Obi-Wan, who tells Luke that his father, Anakin Skywalker, was drawn to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. In addition, Obi-Wan tells Luke that the "other Skywalker" Yoda mention was Luke's twin sister. Luke comes to the conclusion that his twin sister is, in fact, Leia. With this knowledge, Luke leaves Dagobah for good and rejoins the Rebel fleet.
The Rebels, meanwhile, are making plans to attack the Death Star and destroy it before construction on the station is complete. The plan is to have a strike team land on Endor using a stolen Imperial shuttle, as well as an Imperial clearance code, and destroy the shield generator that is protecting the Death Star. Once the shield is destroyed, some of the Rebel fighters will enter the inner workings of the Death Star and destroy the station's main reactor. Han has been chosen to lead the team landing on Endor, while Lando volunteers to lead the assault on the Death Star. Han is joined by Leia, Chewie, Luke, R2, and 3PO, while Lando is given the Falcon to lead the assault on the Death Star, with Lando promising not to get a scratch on the Falcon. Han and co. arrive on Endor, where they are taken to the village of a race of teddy bear looking creatures called Ewoks. After 3PO tells of the group's adventures so far, the Ewoks agree to help the Rebels reach the bunker with the shield generator. Luke, meanwhile confides in Leia of their familial ties, that they are brother and sister, and that Vader is their father. Luke leaves to confront Vader and the Emperor, while Leia, Han, and co. head to the bunker to destroy the shield generator.
On the Death Star, Luke meets the Emperor for the first time, and during this tense meeting, Luke is shown the futile attempts by the Rebel fleet to attack the Death Star, and the fleet being ambushed by Imperial fighters. Luke, finally fed up with the Emperor's taunts, engages in a lightsaber duel with Vader, who is even in strategy, until he steps too far by threatening Leia, which enrages Luke. Luke almost kills Vader, but stops and refuses to join the Dark Side, which leads to the Emperor killing Luke with Force Lightning. Vader, after seeing the torment that his master is inflicting on Luke, chooses to save the life of his son and throws the Emperor down a shaft to his apparent death. Back on Endor, the Rebels and the Ewoks crush the Imperial force stationed on the moon's surface and destroy the bunker, disabling the shield. With the shield down, Lando leads a squad of Rebel fighters into the core of the Death Star and destroys the stations reactor. Luke escapes just in time, and the Death Star is no more. Luke burns the body of his father in a Jedi funeral pyre, and the Rebels on Endor, along with the Ewoks, celebrate their victory and the end of the Empire. Across the galaxy, everyone is in celebration from hearing of the Emperor's defeat. Anakin's Force Ghost joins that of Obi-Wan and Yoda in watching over Luke, as Luke celebrates this victory for the galaxy with his friends.
While The Empire Strikes Back ended with a bittersweet ending, Return of the Jedi's ending was definitely more triumphant. The large amount of creatures introduced in this movie, from the Sarlacc, to the Rancor, to the Ewoks was amazing. I would also like to point out that, at the time this movie was released, it was a surprise that Luke and Leia were brother and sister. Sadly, much like the Vader being Luke's father thing, this is yet another surprise made less of one by Revenge of the Sith, but once again, it depends on what order you watch the movies in. Much like the other two movies in the Original Trilogy, George Lucas did add a few things to this film as well, such as an extended celebration sequence at the end, giving more life to the Sarlaac Pit, including giving the Sarlaac a beak, as well as a full-blown musical number with the Max Rebo Band in Jabba's Palace. While not as significant as the changes made to A New Hope, these changes were still easy to spot, but not as grading, in my opinion. In addition, changing out the Force Ghost for Anakin from the original actor, Sebastian Shaw, with Anakin's actor from the Prequels, Hayden Christensen, was a bit odd to me, but I quickly got over it. Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor was terrific, and this was his first time playing the role. Seeing this after the Prequels, however, is really fun as you get to see the progression of his character from Point A to Point B. I also really liked the space battle at the end of this movie, and seeing new Rebel ships like the A-Wing and B-Wing fighters was really cool.
Overall, Return of the Jedi was a great way to wrap-up the Original Trilogy, and much like the other two installments of the Original Trilogy, I give it a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time when I take a look at the start of the Sequel Trilogy, The Force Awakens, as the Countdown to The Rise of Skywalker continues.
Meanwhile, the Empire has secretly been building a second Death Star within the orbit of the forest moon of Endor. Darth Vader informs Moff Jerjerrod, who is the commander of this new Death Star, that the Emperor himself will be arriving to oversee the completion of the Death Star, and work with Vader to turn Luke to the Dark Side. Back on Dagobah, Luke learns that Yoda is dying of old age, and Yoda confirms that Vader is, in fact Luke's father, and that there is another Skywalker. After Yoda dies and becomes one with the Force, Luke is met by the Force Ghost of Obi-Wan, who tells Luke that his father, Anakin Skywalker, was drawn to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. In addition, Obi-Wan tells Luke that the "other Skywalker" Yoda mention was Luke's twin sister. Luke comes to the conclusion that his twin sister is, in fact, Leia. With this knowledge, Luke leaves Dagobah for good and rejoins the Rebel fleet.
The Rebels, meanwhile, are making plans to attack the Death Star and destroy it before construction on the station is complete. The plan is to have a strike team land on Endor using a stolen Imperial shuttle, as well as an Imperial clearance code, and destroy the shield generator that is protecting the Death Star. Once the shield is destroyed, some of the Rebel fighters will enter the inner workings of the Death Star and destroy the station's main reactor. Han has been chosen to lead the team landing on Endor, while Lando volunteers to lead the assault on the Death Star. Han is joined by Leia, Chewie, Luke, R2, and 3PO, while Lando is given the Falcon to lead the assault on the Death Star, with Lando promising not to get a scratch on the Falcon. Han and co. arrive on Endor, where they are taken to the village of a race of teddy bear looking creatures called Ewoks. After 3PO tells of the group's adventures so far, the Ewoks agree to help the Rebels reach the bunker with the shield generator. Luke, meanwhile confides in Leia of their familial ties, that they are brother and sister, and that Vader is their father. Luke leaves to confront Vader and the Emperor, while Leia, Han, and co. head to the bunker to destroy the shield generator.
On the Death Star, Luke meets the Emperor for the first time, and during this tense meeting, Luke is shown the futile attempts by the Rebel fleet to attack the Death Star, and the fleet being ambushed by Imperial fighters. Luke, finally fed up with the Emperor's taunts, engages in a lightsaber duel with Vader, who is even in strategy, until he steps too far by threatening Leia, which enrages Luke. Luke almost kills Vader, but stops and refuses to join the Dark Side, which leads to the Emperor killing Luke with Force Lightning. Vader, after seeing the torment that his master is inflicting on Luke, chooses to save the life of his son and throws the Emperor down a shaft to his apparent death. Back on Endor, the Rebels and the Ewoks crush the Imperial force stationed on the moon's surface and destroy the bunker, disabling the shield. With the shield down, Lando leads a squad of Rebel fighters into the core of the Death Star and destroys the stations reactor. Luke escapes just in time, and the Death Star is no more. Luke burns the body of his father in a Jedi funeral pyre, and the Rebels on Endor, along with the Ewoks, celebrate their victory and the end of the Empire. Across the galaxy, everyone is in celebration from hearing of the Emperor's defeat. Anakin's Force Ghost joins that of Obi-Wan and Yoda in watching over Luke, as Luke celebrates this victory for the galaxy with his friends.
While The Empire Strikes Back ended with a bittersweet ending, Return of the Jedi's ending was definitely more triumphant. The large amount of creatures introduced in this movie, from the Sarlacc, to the Rancor, to the Ewoks was amazing. I would also like to point out that, at the time this movie was released, it was a surprise that Luke and Leia were brother and sister. Sadly, much like the Vader being Luke's father thing, this is yet another surprise made less of one by Revenge of the Sith, but once again, it depends on what order you watch the movies in. Much like the other two movies in the Original Trilogy, George Lucas did add a few things to this film as well, such as an extended celebration sequence at the end, giving more life to the Sarlaac Pit, including giving the Sarlaac a beak, as well as a full-blown musical number with the Max Rebo Band in Jabba's Palace. While not as significant as the changes made to A New Hope, these changes were still easy to spot, but not as grading, in my opinion. In addition, changing out the Force Ghost for Anakin from the original actor, Sebastian Shaw, with Anakin's actor from the Prequels, Hayden Christensen, was a bit odd to me, but I quickly got over it. Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor was terrific, and this was his first time playing the role. Seeing this after the Prequels, however, is really fun as you get to see the progression of his character from Point A to Point B. I also really liked the space battle at the end of this movie, and seeing new Rebel ships like the A-Wing and B-Wing fighters was really cool.
Overall, Return of the Jedi was a great way to wrap-up the Original Trilogy, and much like the other two installments of the Original Trilogy, I give it a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time when I take a look at the start of the Sequel Trilogy, The Force Awakens, as the Countdown to The Rise of Skywalker continues.
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